Book Review: Lost in Underspace by Kate Dane
Kate Dane is a Minnesota speculative fiction author whose first novel is a romance between a lawyer and a werewolf. This is the second collection of her short stories.
“The Interplanetary Olympics” starts us off with the story of Jackie, a world-class swimmer who’s trying to get out of her dead sister’s shadow. When aliens announce the first Interplanetary Olympics, starting with swimming events, it seems like the perfect chance.
Jackie struggles with the unusual training conditions, alien ideas of “fairness” and survivor’s guilt. Perhaps the struggle is the point.
“The Dog Who Swam Away” has Sarah and her dog Maddie moving to a small town with a bit of a dark secret. For some reason, the bridge near the town has an unusual number of dogs jumping into the river gorge below. Most survive, coming back from their disappearance, but a few don’t, turning up dead or vanishing altogether.
The town authorities don’t seem inclined to do anything, not even posting a warning sign. So when Maddie takes the plunge, Sarah has to take the search into her own hands, maybe with the help of a local man who’s prickly at first but seems to be warming up.
I could see this one being padded out into a Hallmark movie.
“Headliner” takes place in 1915 New York City. The War is far away, but weighing on people’s minds, driving them to seek distractions such as the mesmerist Merlin the Magnificent. When a woman who he hypnotized winds up dead with puncture marks in her throat, among a series of similar but non-lethal attacks, Merlin is the obvious suspect. But do vampires really exist, and can the detective from Pig’s Eye prove it?
“The Epicurious Star Cruise” features food blogger Cammy getting the chance of a lifetime, to visit the famous food galas of the universe aboard an exclusive cruise starship. Her lover Morgan is less thrilled about the idea, but agrees to go along.
There’s a heavily telegraphed twist, which is exactly what you’re expecting, but this story does do some interesting philosophical speculation about it.
“Imitation of a Bobblehead” takes us back to Earth in the very near future. Chester works for a pharmaceutical firm that specializes in mood-altering drugs, and is also one of their customers, taking pills that give him focus and “moral fiber.” He seems stable, but some chance remarks expose Chester to the idea that his life might not be ideal.
This one’s scary, verging on horror.
“The History of Your Life Is Our Bones” takes place in a fantasy world where the main magic in use is sorcery that makes animals more intelligent so they can be used as servants. Or more truthfully, slaves. Ring Tail is the child of the previous steward, Gold Eye, who Lord Kendrick killed, apparently because she had become too old. Ring Tail has little choice but to agree to be the new steward, but begins to plan ways for the “animon” to have better working conditions.
I found this the best story in the volume, as it thinks through its premise well and has just enough moral ambiguity to leave room to ponder.
“Lost in Underspace” is the final story. Carson is a former child soldier who managed to survive, bought a small spaceship to become a courier, and took off, planning never to return. But his old friend Dave has become a reform politician, and needs one of his allies delivered on time for a vital vote.
Problem: Sector Representative Sasson takes too long to pack, and while navigating Underspace, some sort of “storm” knocks them off course and blinds their sensors. There’s no easy way to get out of Underspace, let alone guarantee they’ll arrive in time. At first Carson and Sasson take their grievances out on each other, but eventually a clever solution is found.
But that’s not the end of the story; there’s still dealing with the political and moral implications of what’s happened.
This one went a little too long.
The collection has some interesting ideas, but aside from “Bones” I found it average. Kate Dane has potential, and I’m hoping her next book is better. Recommended to Minnesota speculative fiction fans.
